David Moyes says Everton can keep hold of Jack Rodwell

21 February 2010 12:37

Rodwell, 18, and Gosling, 20, were both on target in the superb 3-1 victory against Manchester United, a win which continued Everton's excellent record against the Premier League's leading sides.

Rodwell in particular is rated as one of the most exciting English prospects around, but Moyes believes Everton's experience with Wayne Rooney will be invaluable in helping keep talented young players at the club.

"There's been quite a lot of attention towards Jack Rodwell for a while. But strangely enough, it was Wayne that worried me a lot more. It doesn't worry me quite so much with Jack because we've been through it before.

"I don't think we were quite ready for Wayne when Wayne came on the scene but we're certainly ready for Jack Rodwell and our team is good enough to carry a Jack Rodwell and keep him and keep bigger suitors away.

"The boy is going to be a good player in time but at this present time it's potential and we have to bring it along at the right pace."

Moyes believes the current Everton set-up would have been able to keep Rooney.

"If Wayne was at Everton now I think it would be completely different," said Moyes. "We're competing within Europe, we're trying to beat the top teams, we're at that end of the league.

"At the time Wayne came on the scene we were fifth or sixth off the bottom so it was a completely different Everton then to what it is now."

Moyes believes the club, which has recovered from a dreadful start to the season when it was overwhelmed by injuries, is reaping the benefit from the solidity under chairman Bill Kenwright.

Moyes has been in charge eight years and he said: "If you can give managers a chance to do their work and get on with it, I think it shows. With Brian Clough and Sir Bobby Robson and Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson they all got long, long periods at their clubs.

"I've got a really good chairman and people have been really supportive and yes there have been times when the team's not been doing so well but I've never at any time felt any threat, and that's the sign of a good chairman.

"He takes the pressure off the manager when there is any and he's let me get on with the job."

Moyes was brought down to earth this morning after his side's high-flying 3-1 win against United at Goodison yesterday when he arrived at Manchester Airport to find his flight to Europe where he was due to take in a game cancelled owing to weather problems. His car taking him back to Merseyside then suffered a puncture and he was rescued by traffic police."